OpenAI's Legal Clash with ANI: ChatGPT’s Training Data at the Heart of Global Dispute

Delhi,India: In a developing legal saga, OpenAI is fighting a lawsuit from news agency ANI in a Delhi court, accusing the AI company of using its published content to train the chatbot without permission. OpenAI, in its defense, argues that deleting the said training data would violate US laws, as it is currently involved in litigation in the United States concerning the very data on which its models have been trained. The tech giant also claims a legal obligation to preserve this training data, citing US legal requirements.

ANI filed its case against OpenAI in November 2024, requesting the deletion of its content from ChatGPT's memory. While OpenAI agreed to halt using ANI's data, the agency maintains that the content remains in ChatGPT’s archives and must be removed.

Additionally, OpenAI claims the Delhi court does not have jurisdiction over the matter, pointing to its lack of a physical presence in India. However, ANI believes the court has the authority to hear the case, and intends to submit a more detailed response soon.

This lawsuit is part of a wider global trend of content creators and companies suing AI firms over the unauthorized use of intellectual property. OpenAI has previously faced similar lawsuits, such as one from The New York Times, while defending its practices as “fair use” of publicly available data.

As OpenAI positions itself to transition into a for-profit entity, raising significant capital for its future AI endeavors, its ongoing legal battles over data usage are attracting widespread attention.